Leaked images of the ZTE Axon 9 surface online

New images of the ZTE Axon 9 have surfaced online. The pictures are courtesy of Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo.

The leak indicates that the ZTE Axon 9 will be the successor to both the Axon 7 and the 7s. From the images two dots flank the circular capacitive home button. These dots will serve as the device’s back and overview buttons. In comparison to the Axon 7, ZTE has removed the dual front facing speakers.

The phone also has dual rear and front facing cameras. While there doesn’t appear to be any selfie shooter specs, the rumour claims the Axon 9 uses a 20-megapixel rear facing shooter. It’s unclear, however, if both camera lenses feature 20-megapixel sensors, or only one.

The leak also indicates the device will run Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor and feature an AMOLED QHD+ display with a 2880 x 1440 pixel resolution. Moreover, it’ll use 4GB or 6GB of RAM depending on the variant and 64GB, 128GB and 256GB depending on the storage configuration.

The image of the ZTE Axon 9 lacks front or rear-facing fingerprint sensors. It’s unclear if ZTE will use either an Apple Face ID-like authentication or an in-display fingerprint sensor.

When ZTE released the Axon 7 the device retailed for $519.99 Canadian. While this was two years ago it’s possible the Axon 9 will be similarly priced. This challenges flagship smartphones like the OnePlus 5T — or the upcoming OnePlus 6 — and the Essential Phone.

While the image looks promising, Weibo isn’t always the most reliable of sources. We’ll have to wait for ZTE to officially reveal its upcoming smartphone before being able to confirm this leak.